Jobs posted on Freelancer.com are up 4% (370,901 jobs) from Q2 (356,876 jobs), with Microsoft-related projects taking the lead. Creative jobs such as content writing, videography, and photography come to a close second, while Pinterest emerges as the top alternative for marketers to promote their business as Facebook organic reach continues to decline.

“Freelancer.com’s quarterly Fast 50 report is a pulse check of the movers and shakers across industries, technologies, products, and companies. We can glean from the increasing demand in Windows related skills that Microsoft is still a giant player in its field, and will continue to assert its dominance,” says Matt Barrie, Chief Executive of Freelancer.com. “What remains to be seen is how long it will be among the top players in the industry.”

The Renaissance of Microsoft

The Freelancer Q3 2015 Fast 50 report reveals a comeback for Microsoft in the most in-demand jobs, which is evident in the number of Windows jobs posted on Freelancer.com. This is no surprise, with the brand striving to keep itself relevant with the launch of Windows 10 devices -- including the Surface Pro 4, Lumia 550, and Xbox One -- which consequently augmented interest in anything Windows-related.

Windows Desktop projects are up 62.7% (to 2,121) on Freelancer.com since Q2, making it the fastest growing online job in Q3. In addition to this, there has also been an increase in Microsoft Office projects. Word projects are up 29.3% (to 3,455) and Excel projects are up 26.6% (to 25,215), while other Microsoft Office jobs have increased by 8.3% (to 1,323). This shows that Microsoft Word is still the preferred word processing software for professionals, despite the existence of alternatives like Google Docs by Google Apps.

Microsoft also ensured that it didn't lose market shares to competition like Google Apps by launching Office 2016 last September. The software features real-time collaboration, OneDrive integration, and cross-platform, cross-device functionality, which, at the very least, match if not exceed Google Apps’.

The Emergence of Yuccies

Young Urban Creatives or Yuccies, as coined by Mashable’s David Infante, is the new Hipster. Deemed as the cultural offspring of Yuppies and Hipsters, the Yuccie demographic is now thriving on the Internet.

On Freelancer.com, creative projects have been on the rise, with Content Writing still leading at 21.9% growth (to 10,369 jobs). Photography jobs have increased by 13.0% (to 2,062 jobs). Video Editing, Video Services, and Videography jobs have gone up by 18.6% (to 1,641 jobs), 14.2% (to 4,134 jobs), and 7.2% (to 1,199 jobs) respectively. Design work in various fields is on the up, with 3D Design growing at 12.0% (to 1,915 jobs), Flyer Design at 10.9% (to 1,652 jobs), and Banner Design at 7.3% (to 4,997 jobs).

“With the rise of these Young Urban Creatives, and the many millennial professionals who comprise Freelancer.com’s users, it’s only logical that creative jobs will continue to prevail in the marketplace,” says Barrie. “The Internet enables this demographic to provide their services to a large number of businesses around the globe - this is one work trend that can only go up.”

Social Network Wars

Facebook’s steady decline in organic reach (a 49% drop from the October 2013 peak, according to Social@Ogilvy) has affected new entrepreneurs looking to promote their business on social media. On the site, Facebook Marketing jobs are falling by 12.9% (to 6,475).

Consequently, brands might be moving to other platforms to push their products. Pinterest has been constantly growing over the past year, and this quarter is evident with the rise of 9.9% (to 2,333 jobs). The platform is ideal for business owners planning to promote their products through a visual-heavy channel.

Note: Data relates to projects posted between July 1st and September 30th (Quarter 3, 2015) compared with those posed between April 1st and June 30th, 2015 (Quarter 2, 2015).

Read the full Fast 50 report on the Fifty Fastest-Growing Online Jobs for Q3 2015 here.